


Time Turned Back

by sepiapages



Series: Light a Match fics [1]
Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 01:48:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sepiapages/pseuds/sepiapages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh finds himself back in front of the grey, vine-covered building, but it's the first day again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Turned Back

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PastelMess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelMess/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Light a Match and All I'll See is You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4175058) by [PastelMess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelMess/pseuds/PastelMess). 



> I'm usually good at titles but this one was a total blank so suggestions are appreciated. Enjoy. I'm sorry it turned out shitty.

Blurryface was having a moody day. While him and Tyler may have made their peace and were off trying to kill each other (and others), that didn't mean they always got along, or that Tyler wouldn't have a bad day if Blurry felt a bit mischievous, or even just bored.

Josh certainly was not enjoying it at the moment. He'd had a few scares of setting something on fire (a blanket, a shirt, maybe some hair...) and he was happy to blame Blurry's  _ and _ Tyler's mood for it.

He threw the door closed behind him with a huff and started down the hallway with heavy steps. 

The door opened again and Tyler stepped out halfway into the hall. "Come on, Jish," he pleaded, brown eyes wide and innocent. Then his face twisted into a scowl and he muttered, "Fuck off for a minute, will you?" 

Josh had stopped and turned to hear Tyler's plea, but now he just sighed and turned back around. "I'm tired today, okay? I'll be back later. Tell Blurry I appreciated the offer, but we'll have to discuss it at a later date.” Then, just for fun, "Beeeep!"

Tyler pouted. "He can hear you, you know."

"Yeah, I do."

It had taken many months, but Josh had finally memorized the twists and turns of the hallways in the vine-covered building that had changed his life all that time ago.

So he easily found his way to the dining hall and sat down next to Patrick, trying to put on a positive attitude.

"Hey Josh!" Patrick greeted him with a smile. "What's up?"

It was a voice appearing in Josh's head, of course. Pat had finally mastered how to communicate mentally after having his tongue cut out thanks to Brent and his torturous, sadistic "mission of science" almost a year ago now. The communication honestly felt like an extension of Patrick's talent.

Josh smiled back. He liked Patrick's voice and it was nice that it carried over into the mental messages. He'd missed it.

"I'm, er... fine, really. But Tyler's having issues," he groaned. 

Patrick frowned, a little deeper concern finding its way onto his face. "Is Blurry acting up?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing," Josh assured him. "Just in a mood like the children I swear they are." They shared a smile and Josh continued with a wave of his hand. "Anyways, I don't want to talk about that. What are you guys up to?"

Patrick nodded over to the corner where some tables had been moved and there was a gathering of onlookers. 

"Brendon and Andy are having some sort of competition." He shrugged. "Don't really know what it is, exactly." 

Josh was definitely curious. He thanked Pat and got up to see what was happening. The ringing in his ears increased and he could feel electricity crackling in the air. Brendon was standing in an action stance and concentrating hard, but the typical smirk was still there. Andy was standing opposite him. There were fewer people near him, as the tiny stabs of lightning flickering around him were a bit unnerving. 

_ What are they doing? _ Josh frowned and crept closer, peering over Mikey's shoulder. Even Pete was watching and cheering.

"What's going on?" Josh asked.

Mikey turned his head and answered, grinning widely. "Brendon and Andy are trying to see what they can do off each other. Their talents aren't all that similar," he admitted, "but they're close enough to experiment."

Josh hummed in thought. "Has anything happened yet?"

Mikey shook his head and turned back to watch, pumping his fist and yelling for Brendon to show Andy up.

A long crackle of electricity began to thread around Andy's fingers. He slowly spread his hands apart and the bolt stretched between them, thickening and hissing and cracking. 

Everyone near Andy stepped way back and Josh looked to Brendon in curiosity. Brendon was less smirking and more grinning in an excited way. He narrowed his eyes and the bolt started bending and twisting and leaping far up to the ceiling and down to the ground. Sparks flew wherever it touched and a growing dark stain appeared on the cement floor.

They were all definitely impressed. Andy seemed like he was ready to put the bolt away, but Brendon... ever-cocky Brendon decided to test his limits.

The bolt reached up again and it started to split into two branches of white-hot, sparking awe. The crowd stared and Brendon hooted with pride. Andy was grinning and seemed thoroughly impressed.

Then Brendon looked away, surveying the crowd proudly. Suddenly, the unfocused bolt started spazzing and was no longer a solid branch, but fraying and spitting everywhere. There were screams and the crowd backed away again, dispersing, and Andy tried to get it under control. 

Bringing his hands back together seemed to only squish and make the bolt even more wild. But then it broke. 

Someone fell to the ground near Josh.

Rian.

His body was spasming and shaking and Josh's stomach was down to the floor in dread. 

Alex and Jack were the first to his side, yelling his name. Then Zack jumped in and hovered behind them, though he looked just as afraid. 

Josh ran over, wondering what he could possibly do to help.  _ Burning him would definitely not help, _ he thought bitterly. 

Rian was still twitching and his eyes were rolled back in his head and there was drool dripping down his cheek. Josh reached out to grab him so he'd stop shaking and not hurt himself. Everyone screamed. As soon as his hand touched Rian's arm, his muscles seized and he couldn't move.

Then Rian's eyes were staring into Josh's and nothing was happening at all.

And then everything was gone.

\-----

Josh blinked. His whole body ached. He wasn't in the dining hall anymore. In fact, he was outside the entire building. Something felt off, though, and soon enough his suspicions were confirmed as a loud rustling came from the trees at the edge of the clearing and two very scary-looking, large men appeared.

Josh knew them. And, _ oh god _ , they definitely knew him.

He couldn't even pause to think of how absolutely  _ insane  _ the situation was—he could only run. 

His mind was a stream of panicked  _ NONONONONONONO _ , as he took off, his heels digging into the ground. His heart raced and he felt heat washing over his skin in waves and— _ Oh right.  _

He stopped running and turned around, clenching his fists and staring down the two men hurdling toward him. His arms ignited and the men skidded to a stop. The three of them stood still for a while and if Josh concentrated, he could hear their heartbeats pounding with fear instead of adrenaline.

Finally, he took a step forward he hoped would be menacing and the men turned tail and fled, seemingly faster than they had been running before.

The silence that followed, aside from the crackling of the flames and the birds chirping as they slowly returned, gave Josh the moment to process what had happened.

“Holy shit,” he gasped and put the flames out. “No… no, this isn't happening. This  _ can't  _ be happening. I'm not…?” He couldn't deny the fact that he was right back here he'd been more or less two years ago. There was only one thing he had to do to test that theory…

He slowly, carefully started walking back to the building, giving it a long hard look and taking a deep breath as he made his way to the door. One more breath and his fingers were resting on the handle. Another, and he gripped it, pushed down, and…

It was unlocked. He squeezed his eyes shut and hit his head against the wall. “No no no no no,” he murmured. “What is happening?”

He took a few moments to calm himself before listening to a tiny curious voice in his head. _Does this mean everything is starting over? Is Tyler still a victim? Is Brent still at his horror island? Is Patrick's_ _tongue still there?_

Some of it was exciting, he admitted; some was even  _ good.  _ But part of him wilted at the  realization that everything they'd worked for was now gone and nobody there knew who he was.

_ How did this happen?  _ He wracked his brain trying to recall where he was before (sort of).  _ Rian… oh my god.  _ Rian's talent had to do with time, so that had to have meant something. Somehow, Rian had sent Joshua back in time to the first day.

He shook his head, feeling dizzy. It was time to figure something out. Maybe he could send him back. But he'd have to know him first…

_ Here goes… _

Josh opened the door and stepped inside. He stood in darkness for a while. How had they known he was there in the first place? 

He turned around and opened the door again, then pulled it hard and slammed it shut. He winced and then his mind raced, screaming, “Now what?!” 

Now Pete would come in and find him and… knock him out. Right. He just had to avoid that and get Pete to understand he was Joshua from the future. (He scoffed.  _ Easy peasy.) _

Josh found a light switch and the room lit up. Then, finally, the door opened and Pete stepped in. Menacing, pissed-off Pete who thought Josh was an intruder.

Without thinking, Josh shouted, “Pete wait!” He threw his hands up in defense.

Pete froze in confusion. “How the fuck do you know my name? Who are you?” 

Josh cringed. “I know this looks bad, and you probably think I'm coming to steal something…”

Pete started toward him again, fists raised. Josh felt the earth shake a little. 

“Nonono Pete wait! Pete Pete Pete! Please!” Josh was panicking and honestly surprised he hadn't burst into flames yet. “Mikey left the door unlocked! 'He doesn't even  _ need _ to use it. But he does it anyway!’ Remember?” 

He didn't really know why he said “Remember?” because of course he didn't remember. It hadn't happened yet.

Pete stopped moving and stood there with a mixture of anger and absolute incredulousness. “What the fuck?” was all he said.

Josh's heart was still beating a mile a minute. “Please, just get Dallon. I swear he'll be able to explain.”

“Dallon?” Pete repeated, still in disbelief. Josh nodded.

“I'd go too but I'm afraid you'll break my arm again. I mean… not again… sort of…” Josh groaned. “Never mind. Please.” He gestured helplessly to the door.

“Dallon… right…” Pete mumbled before slowly turning to leave. Then he spun around, “You're coming with me.”

Josh nodded again and put his hands up in surrender. Pete stared at him for another minute before shaking himself and heading to the door.

They made their way down the hall and to Dallon's room. Pete knocked and glanced warily over his shoulder at Josh, who raised his hands higher and tried to look as innocent as possible.

“Dallon, we have a, uh… a problem. A situation. I don't know. It's really fucking weird.”

The door opened and Dallon stepped out and Josh felt hope surge through him. He bit his tongue to stop himself from greeting him like normal. 

Dallon looked Josh up and down with a strange look on his face. “Who is this?” He leaned closer before jerking back with wide eyes. “He's not…!”

Pete snorted. “Yeah he's human, but he knows things.” He shifted uncomfortably and glanced back at Josh before continuing. “He knew my name. And Mikey's. And he told me you would be able to explain.”

Dallon stared at Josh. Then something clicked and Josh spoke up. “Hey, what do you mean I'm not human?” As far as he knew, he hadn't been human since Brent changed him. He wasn't even fully  _ alive _ , let alone a mortal human.

Dallon suddenly nodded. “He's right,” he told Pete. “He's not human. But… I don't know what he is.”

“I'm right here,” Josh muttered, folding his arms. “Please, I swear Dallon, just dig around in my head a little and tell Pete I'm telling the truth.”

Dallon didn't answer, only grabbing his arm and pushing him into the room. He told Pete to follow. Pete closed the door behind him and the three of them stood in silence as Dallon studied Josh.

“All right, start talking.”

“This is gonna sound insane, but I mean, you guys have super powers so this should seem relatively sensible to be honest, especially if my theory that Rian did it is correct, which it really seems like it is.”

“Jesus Christ get to the explaining how you know who we are but we don't know who the fuck you are!” 

Dallon hushed Pete but Josh sheepishly started over.

“Okay, uh, so I guess I time traveled. I'm Josh, and I came from like… two years in the future. Somehow, Rian… you know, your guy Rian Dawson?” Pete and Dallon shared a look before nodding. “Okay, well he got hit by some electricity when Brendon and Andy were messing around, and I touched him because I'm stupid sometimes and… I guess his time altering power has more ability than we knew and it sent me back here.”

He paused to take a breath and assess how the two were taking it. Their eyes were definitely big and Dallon had his mouth hanging open a bit.

Pete glanced at him questioningly. Dallon swallowed and nodded. “He's… telling the truth. Somehow.”

Josh almost collapsed with relief. “So today I was being chased by these two scary guys because, well, long story short I got caught up in drug business a while back and now they're trying to kill me. But this time, instead of coming in the conveniently unlocked door,” he said pointedly, looking to Pete, “and being mistaken for an intruder and getting knocked out and…” Josh stopped and blew out a breath. “God, I don't know what to do. I'm here and I know what's going to happen here for the next two years. Honestly, it's both really good and  _ really _ bad.” 

Dallon's face dropped at that and Pete only looked threatened.

Josh shrugged. “Anyways. This time I got to scare the men away because of my talent and now I'm hoping we can figure something out to get me back to the future.” Josh snickered. And then he was full-on hysterical. His arms flew out wildly in an attempt to find something to support himself and he fell onto Dallon's bed.

Pete wandered over and sat down in a chair, running his hand over his hair. Dallon carefully sat down next to Josh and put his hand on his shoulder in a fatherly way, as usual.

Josh stopped laughing as he registered that. He bit his lip and swallowed. “You've always been like a better parent to me, Dallon.”

His response was a heartbreaking look and Josh felt ready to cry and then he felt even more ridiculous as he recovered from the drastic mood shifts.

“I just want to sleep. But… my room isn't here, is it?” 

Dallon awkwardly shook his head. “No… I guess not.”

Josh sighed. “You really don't want to go digging in my head that much, I think. You could see too much and it might change the…” Suddenly, his stomach dropped. “Oh god. What if I already screwed up the future? I've totally messed it up so bad already oh my god nonono…”

Josh was aware he was beginning to hyperventilate but he couldn't stop. “What was I supposed to do? They saw me; they would have followed me into the building! And then… god, I couldn't have reenacted the next two years perfectly. I'm so screwed. I'm gonna know it's all wrong and it could be like that butterfly effect and everything is wrong and so much worse.”

Dallon gripped Josh's shoulders and stared him down. “Joshua, you're going to be fine.” He glanced over his shoulder at Pete. “Go get Spencer.”

Pete gaped at him. “But—”

“I know! Just… please. We'll figure something out.”

Josh pushed his fingers into his eyes and tried to calm down. He shook as he tried to hold back sobs but every breath brought a new wave of guilt and hopelessness.

“Joshua, listen to me,” Dallon said. Josh gathered his strength to look up at him. “Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. No matter what. And it's going to be fine. We will make sure the good things happen, but hey, bad things are part of life too, right?”

Josh sniffed and nodded. He almost felt calmer but then he remembered a face that sent the guilt pummeling back into him. “But I don't want to have to start all over with Tyler! We…” He groaned as he realized he was telling Dallon too much.

Dallon shook his head. “I know. I couldn't miss that part of your memories; it was too big. I'm sorry. You… you really fixed him, didn't you?” Dallon was speaking in awe and Josh couldn't help but grin.

“I wouldn't say 'fixed’ but yeah. He's a lot better.”

Dallon scoffed. “That's the understatement of the year from what I gathered.”

Josh laughed but agreed.

The door opened and Pete stepped in with Spencer in tow.

“You said we had a new guy who wasn't exactly new. What's that supposed to mean?” Spencer looked at Josh, puzzled. 

Josh grew red under the scrutiny. “I'm sorry, you didn't need to call Spencer…”

That earned a wide-eyed look from the bearded man because he didn't know the guy sitting on Dallon's bed who obviously knew him. He looked from Pete to Dallon for answers.

Dallon breathed deep through his nose and let it out through his mouth. “He's gonna be introduced at some point. Spencer, this is Joshua. He's from the future.”

Spencer's eyes bugged out even more. “ _ What _ ?”

“Something happened in the future that sent him back here. We think it was something to do with Rian,” Dallon explained, looking to Josh for confirmation.

“But Rian can't send people back in time,” Spencer pointed out. His confusion was making the room become very tense and Josh gripped his hands together.

“Like I said,” Dallon responded, “something happened. Something out of the ordinary, obviously.”

Spencer finally relaxed and nodded. “Wow. All right, then. This is new.”

The next while was spent trying to explain more and formulate some sort of plan. Josh's only idea was to get Rian to see what he could do, but he wasn't sure what could be possible. He'd gone back two years of progress for Rian's talent and he didn't think he wanted to get him violently shocked again. But that was definitely in the back of his mind as a last-ditch effort.

Eventually, Josh threw himself back on the bed and groaned. “This is such a mess. I'm so sorry. I should have known not to touch an electrocuted, seizing man.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “You are an idiot, but don't beat yourself up. This is kinda cool, isn't it?” 

Dallon threw him a look but Pete put his hands up defensively. “I'm just saying! Time travel, man. That's pretty sick.”

Josh snickered. “Yeah. I know what's gonna happen to all of you guys.” He thought of what joke he could make about Pete and Patrick's relationship, but then remembered Patrick's… condition and clamped his mouth shut.

He sat up on the bed. “Oh my god, Tyler! Something's gonna happen with Tyler. Although… I was kept overnight the first day. So it's gonna happen tomorrow.”

Spencer dragged a hand down his face. “This is too freaky.”

Dallon leaned forward, his face masked in worry. “What's going to happen to Tyler?”

“It's nothing awful, I guess,” Josh said quickly. “Blurry comes back in control. At the time, I was in the dining hall getting introduced to… Patrick?” Pete perked up at the name. “No, Pat was introducing me to Joe and Andy. And he was telling me about Pete,” he said, a smirk on his face as he glanced at Pete across the room.

He shifted to sit at the edge of the bed. “I dunno. It  _ was  _ two years ago. Sort of… Anyways. Blurry took over painfully, and he noticed me but for some reason didn't try to kill me.”

The others looked surprised. Josh reminded himself not to give too much away about Tyler's and Blurry's future.

“He can see through the fog and everything, too, by the way. And when Andy takes him down, it's all because of surprise. And Tyler's the only one who can feel pain, so you're just hurting him.”

Pete and Spencer gaped openly while Dallon seemed to have prepared himself for the new Tyler information.

Finally, Josh shrugged again and picked at his shoelace. “I guess I should stop saying so much. Should we talk to Rian?”

“We'll get to that. He's out on a supply run at the moment, actually,” Dallon explained. Josh's heart dropped a little.

“Oh. Then what am I supposed to do? Hide in here for a day?”

“I'm kinda curious to see him interact with everybody,” Pete said, grinning with a little mischievous glint in his eye.

Dallon glared at him. “I don't think that's a good idea.”

“I'm tired, actually. It's almost eleven, isn't it?” Josh asked.

Spencer flicked his watch. “Yeah. I won't say anything about Josh, promise.”

“I won't either,” Pete agreed.

With a sigh, Dallon nodded. He rubbed his face. “Sure. Joshua, you can sleep in here. We'll get started with Rian tomorrow. Maybe he can confirm that time travel is within his possible limits and maybe, just maybe, we can see if Joshua has any chance of not messing up the future.”

Josh bit the inside of his cheek. He really hoped he could. He'd have one hell of a story to tell them back in the future.

Despite his insistence against it, Dallon gave Josh the bed and told him to wait for him in the morning. “Don't leave the room,” Dallon said, pointing at Josh who nodded vigorously. “It's a miracle nobody saw you on the way in.”

So Josh curled up in his clothes from two years in the future under blankets in Dallon's bed once again and hoped sleep would come easily.

It didn't. He lay awake for at least two hours, he assumed, and finally Dallon came back in the room, looking exhausted. Josh shifted and Dallon jumped, surprised he was still awake.

“We can share the bed. We did it before…” Josh mumbled. “You know.”

Dallon smiled and shook his head. “Yeah. I know.” Still, he disappeared into the bathroom, but came back and crawled in behind Josh. “We don't speak of it, okay?”

Josh grinned into the pillow, but his heart ached. “Yeah. No problem.”

He finally fell asleep after that.

\-----

Dallon gave Josh clothes to borrow, but they were a little too big on him so he had to tuck the shirt in the shorts and constantly shift them to keep them from falling down.

Eventually, they managed to get Spencer and Pete back in and started discussing.

“So,” Pete started, “I'll get Rian, tell him you need to speak with him. 'Cause, you know, that's normal.” Dallon nodded. 

Josh ate the plate of eggs Spencer had kindly brought him from the dining hall. “Do you think anyone is suspicious?”

Pete shrugged. “Maybe, knowing our nosy bunch like Mikey fucking Way. But you're going to be introduced at some point, so it's stupid to be overprotective.”

Josh agreed, but his stomach flipped at the thought of having to re-meet everyone.

Dallon rubbed his hands together. “I guess we're banking on Rian knowing something about his talent that we don't. If not, we'll have to think of something else.”

That made Josh even more nervous.

He sighed. “Well, we have until eight or nine before Blurry acts up, so we should get moving.”

Everyone stared at him. “How do you remember the exact times? It's been, like, two years for you.”

Josh blinked. “Oh. It was a pretty traumatic day, actually. I remembered what Pete had said to me about Mikey after he finally listened to me telling him about the unlocked door. And when he told me how long I'd been there, I couldn't really forget.” He shrugged. 

They continued to stare, but finally shook their heads and got up to moving. Pete left to get Rian and Spencer kept an eye on the time.

“It's almost seven now, so we have an hour,” he announced.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Dallon asked, worry on his face.

Josh looked at him strangely. “What do you mean? I've already messed up the future beyond repair, so I might as well try to make sure things go well.”

Dallon just shrugged and looked away.

Rian came in first, looking concerned. Pete followed, glancing out in the corridor and closing the door. 

“What did you need?” Rian asked Dallon. His response was a deep breath and a nod towards Josh who was sitting on the bed.

Rian's face dropped when he laid eyes on Josh. “Oh my god. I know you. Why do I know you?”

Josh's eyes widened. “You  _ know _ me?”

Dallon stood up and put his hand on Rian's shoulder. “Rian, there's something we need your help with.”

Rian slowly allowed himself to be led to a chair and sat down shakily. He still stared at Josh, scrutinizing every inch.

“Rian.”

He tore his gaze away from Josh to look at Dallon. “Who is he?”

“This is Joshua. He's… from the future.”

Rian turned even whiter. “I knew it,” he whispered. “I've done something, haven't I?”

“No, you're not in trouble,” Dallon assured him. “Please, we need you to listen carefully.” He turned to Spencer hopefully.

Spencer nodded and shifted, steadying himself. A wave of calm swept over the room. Rian finally appeared to gain color back and he blinked rapidly, breathing heavily.

“What can I do? I can't send people back, or forward in time.”

Dallon didn't know what to say. He sat back thoughtfully while Josh fidgeted on the bed before standing up. “You got electrocuted,” he said. Rian's head snapped up. “Andy and Brendon were messing around and you were electrocuted. I touched you because I was trying to help, but something went wrong and I woke up here… two years in the past.”

Rian ran a hand through his hair and pulled. “Wow. So it's like I got overloaded, and my uncontrolled power needed to be released, but it had built up too much energy, which equates to how far I can alter, and when you touched me, you became the outlet. It latched on and sent you away.” No one moved. Rian blew out an overwhelmed breath. “Shit. That had to have been a ton of energy those two worked up. Like, a  _ lot _ .” 

His eyes were big and Josh believed him without a doubt. 

“Is… is there any way we could send him back?” Dallon asked quietly. They all knew the answer.

Rian pursed his lips and threw his hands up in exasperation. “You'd need a shitton of energy, that's for sure. But I don't know how to secure the flow in a controlled manner to me and my power without throwing me into a seizure again.” He shuddered. “I'm sorry, Josh, but I'd really not like to do that.”

Josh laughed. “No, of course not.” Then, his stomach dropped and he swallowed. “Uh… but Rian… does this mean I've changed the future?”

Rian smiled gently. “Honestly, I'm not sure. But to tell you the truth, I don't think so.”

Josh looked up incredulously. “How is that possible?”

“My power… it's complicated, but I don't think it has enough to alter the course of the universe,” Rian explained. Everyone breathed a large sigh of relief. He continued, “There would be far too many paradoxes if you were sent straight back in time the way you think. If you believe in multiverses, you could have just been sent across to this one where you were supposed to do everything this way. All we have to do is send you back to your multiverse at the same time of your exit, and you'll be back on your usual track.”

Josh stood up and punched the air. “Yes! Great! Thank you so much! This is the coolest thing. I may feel like I'm on my own but I'm just doing everything as it was planned out by God, right?”

Rian shrugged, looking away. “Eh, I don't believe in your Christian God but sure, if that's what makes sense to you.”

Josh let it roll off his back. “Thank you,” he repeated.

Rian smiled.

“Okay, but we still don't know how to send him back without practically murdering you,” Pete put in. 

“And getting to the right universe—” Spencer started.

“Multiverse,” Rian corrected him.

“Right, getting to the right one at the right time seems impossibly difficult.”

Rian frowned. “That part is all up to me, I'm afraid. I'll try my best, Josh, I promise.”

Josh nodded. “I trust you.”

“I don't know how long you'll have to be here, though. I'm sorry.”

“It's okay,” Josh replied. “I'm going to put my faith in the fact that I'm supposed to be 'messing up’ things here.” He finger-quoted, grinning.

“Let's have a sort of collaboration,” Pete suggested, looking at Dallon. “Get Andy and Brendon to work out the energy part, and maybe Mikey can be of some help. Teleportation, you know?”

Josh gasped. “And Vecchio can help Rian with his talent!”

The three stared at him. “Who?”

His heart crashed. “Oh no. You don't have Vecchio yet.” His head fell into his hands. “And, oh god, we'd have to go through all of the Brent war mess just to get him.”

“ _ War? _ ” Dallon exclaimed. 

Josh cringed. “Yeah. Tip for the future: don't trust a guy named Brent. Like, honestly? Kill him on sight.”

Their eyes were all saucers and Josh smiled apologetically. “You won't know why, but you'd be thanking me.”

They accepted that warily and began getting ready to start the hopeful process. Josh wondered if they'd be able to get Vecchio.  _ He really would be helpful… _

Spencer left and Dallon told Pete to take Josh to meet everyone. “Supervise, I guess. I just feel like we need to be careful with him.”

Pete groaned but agreed.

“Dallon?” Josh asked quietly. “I don't think I'm going to be able to help Tyler this time.”

Dallon put a hand on his shoulder. “You're meant to help him, so I think you'll find a way.”

Josh hoped he was right.

\-----

His nerves were through the roof as he followed Pete down the halls. He didn't bother to tell him he already knew the way. He didn't feel up to being in control of himself at the moment.

It was just past eight and Josh couldn't help but feel anxious to get to Tyler. What would he say? “Hey, I'm someone you don't know but I know you and your evil side is about to attack so you should probably go lock yourself in your room and/or prepare yourself to fight it off.”

It was going to be a long day.

They shouldn't have been surprised to find that a rumor of a newbie had already spread, so when Pete led him through the dining hall full of people, Josh had nearly twenty gazes on him. He struggled to keep the waves of heat and embarrassment under control.

Thankfully, Pete sat him down next to Patrick. Josh took a deep breath and turned to the smiling cardigan-clad man. 

“Hey, you're the new guy, right? I'm Patrick.” He stuck his hand out politely.

Josh stared. Patrick's mouth had moved and sound came out. It wasn't in his head. He almost cried with joy until he realized he'd left Patrick's hand hanging. 

_ Oh my god. Patrick's hand! _

Josh finally gripped it with his own and smiled back. He couldn't resist, though, and he leaned over to see Patrick's other hand resting on the table. He grinned even wider, so much that it hurt.

Meanwhile, Patrick slowly returned his arm to his side and glanced at Pete with a confused look. Pete shrugged, but glared at Josh when he looked away.

“I’m Josh,” he finally got to. 

Patrick nodded. “What can you do?”

It took Josh a second to realize what he meant. “Oh,” he breathed, feeling a bubble of excitement rise in him. He was getting to show  _ them  _ his powers! 

He got up from the table and stood a few steps away. He grinned at Patrick and tried to focus on that rather than the growing gazes on him again. He concentrated and clenched his fists and waited for the flames. He felt a shift and looked down.

_ What? _

Instead of the normal blazing fire up his forearms, there was a light layer of creeping flames like when the stove top burner had been set to low.

While Josh gaped in confusion, Patrick, Pete, and the rest of the  room stared with wide eyes and whispers filled it.

Josh shook himself and put them out, sitting back down. Patrick started talking immediately. “That's incredible! I've never seen fire before!”

“Y-yeah,” Josh stuttered. “Thanks. Uh…” He turned around to look frantically at Pete, who thankfully took the cue to yank him out of the seat and drag him to the side.

“What's going on?”

“That wasn't supposed to happen!” Josh blurted.

Pete looked fearfully at him. “You mean you weren't supposed to burst into flames?”

“No, no, I mean it wasn't supposed to happen like that. That was nothing—usually I have a whole armful of flames, not a little sputtering.”

Pete frowned. “Maybe being in this time is messing you up.”

Josh started wheezing, running his hand over his face. “Oh god, I hope not.”

“Calm down,” Pete whispered, glancing around the room. “Also—what the fuck happened to your Patrick that made you look at him like that?”

Josh gulped. “Um… if you avoid Brent, I promise you'll never have to know.”

Pete didn't look like he wanted that answer, but he didn't say anything else.

He led him back to the table and introduced him to everyone he already knew and Josh pretended to be impressed and surprised by their showing of their talents. Finally Josh glanced at the clock and grabbed Pete's arm. “Tyler!” he hissed.

Pete looked at him helplessly. “What do you want me to do?”

“Where is he?”

“Over there.” He pointed across the room. 

Josh thanked him and excused himself from the table, heading over. He squeezed his fists tight and hoped it would go well.

He approached slowly. “Tyler?” he called, not wanting to surprise him by tapping.

Tyler turned around and Josh's stomach dropped. He'd left a little ticked at his Tyler but all he wanted to do now was push him against a wall and kiss him until he forgot where he was. 

“Who are you?”

“I'm Josh,” he began, his mouth feeling dry, “and I need you to trust me when I say Blurry is going to do something here real soon.”

Tyler stepped back with wide, angry eyes. “Why do you know about him? What the fuck is that supposed to—?”

Suddenly he was stumbling and gripping his head with his hands. He screamed and Josh felt his blood freeze. He hadn't seen a painful turnover in so long and it hurt him to see Tyler like this.

He reached out and gripped Tyler's shoulder. Pete gasped and yelled, “Don't touch him!” 

“Don't worry!” Josh threw over his shoulder.  _ At least, I hope I'm still invincible to Blurry. _

Tyler tried to shake him off but Josh was leaning in, whispering, “Fight it, Tyler. You can do it. Blurry is a part of you but he's not all of you.”

Tyler screamed again but it was muffled, and less piercing. Finally, he stood up shakily, leaning on Josh. He glared up at him with red eyes.

“No,” Josh breathed.

Blurry grinned his malicious, toothy grin like he'd already won something. “Hello, Joshie. I know something they don't,” he said, glancing around pointedly at the people watching. “You don't belong here.”

_ Anyone hearing this would just think he's being cold to me as a new guy, that's all,  _ Josh told himself. Blurry had always been somewhat omniscient, hadn't he? It shouldn't have been surprising that he sensed Josh's situation and identity.

“You and Tyler need to work together,” he demanded. “Find a common goal. You are part of each other and you're no good pretending you can get rid of the other. You can't.”

Blurry scoffed. “What do you know, imposter?”

Josh gritted his teeth. “Find someone you love. Someone you both love. Lose them for a while.  Lose yourself, too. Maybe then you'll see what I'm talking about.”

Everyone was staring, but then Blurry was grunting and swearing and leaning on the table. Then he looked up and brown eyes met Josh's once more. Cold, pissed brown eyes, but still.

“I don't know who you are,” he said, panting from the effort and pain, “but he knows there's more to you. And whatever you just said made some sort of freaky sense and… he left. He fucking  _ left _ . I took back over just like that.” He was less angry now and more in exhausted awe.

Pete handled the crowd, saying they could “meet the new guy later,” while Tyler dragged Josh out of the dining hall, down the stairs and into his room. He slammed the door and Josh stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, feeling only slightly scared. He'd survived touching Blurry, so that was a good sign.

“Start talking,” Tyler demanded. He walked over to sit on his desk and folded his black-painted arms.

Josh sighed and tugged at his hair. “I guess you'll all find out soon enough. I'm from the future.”

Silence filled the room for a second before Tyler was laughing so hard he almost fell off his desk. “Damn, and here I was thinking this was gonna be easy. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Josh rolled his eyes. “An accident happened with Brendon, Andy, and Rian that ended up sending me back in time to now, which is the first… er, second day really, that I was here. Two years in the future, I'm a part of this place and… well, you're in love with me.”

Tyler got off his desk in seconds and had Josh against the wall by his throat. “You say that again, I dare you.”

Josh smirked, clawing at Tyler's hands uncomfortably. “What's Blurry saying about me now?”

“That he wants me to rip your heart out of your chest and fuck your dead corpse.”

“Jesus, you two really were nasty when you didn't get along.”

Tyler punched Josh in the jaw and turned away to pace. “Why are you talking in the past tense? What do you know about me?”

Josh rubbed his chin and wiped blood off his lip. “Okay, well Rian is theorizing that I just jumped multiverses and ended up back in time in this place. So really, this is a different past. But still.”

“Get to the point where you explain… me.” Tyler wasn't as angry, he just seemed tired.

Josh smiled softly. “I wasn't kidding. We ended up together. I helped you and Blurry work together and you don't try to kill each other or anyone else anymore.”

Tyler sat down with wide eyes. “How?” he breathed.

“Well… you almost killed me a few times. Then I did die, but not because of you,” he quickly added, “and you brought me back to life. But then, of course, we couldn't touch. But I got kidnapped by Brent, an evil psycho scientist, and he turned me into… this. The Human Torch. And I'm in this weird in-between state of life and death, so we can touch. Blurryface too.”

Tyler gaped at him. “I fell in love with a  _ human _ ?” 

Josh frowned. “I'm still a bit offended by your hatred of humankind, but yeah. I was human.”

“But… Blurry and I…”

Josh smiled. “You got so taxed by bringing me back to life that you lost control for a while, and I think you told me you went insane. Almost killed me again. But Blurry was starting to change too, and finally when I got kidnapped, you both loved me so much you cooperated and came to my rescue.”

Josh was grinning and Tyler was staring in disbelief.

And then he was kissing Josh against the wall, his fingers twisting into Josh's hair and pulling his shirt over his head. He pressed his hands into Josh's chest and Josh moaned into his mouth. Tyler began sucking on his neck, his hand moving to palm at the lump in Josh's pants and Josh moaned again.

“Jesus, you always did move fast,” he gasped.

“The minute I saw you, I knew,” Tyler breathed against Josh's skin. “I knew you were something else.”

He went back to kissing Josh, open-mouthed and hungry and Josh couldn't breathe in the best way.

Then there was a knock on the door.

They pulled away, breathing hard and Tyler tossed Josh his shirt. As he yanked it over his head, Tyler opened the door to see Pete standing there.

“Where's Josh?”

Tyler smirked and Josh appeared behind him, red-faced. “Hey, what's up?

Pete gave him a look. “Dallon and Rian talked to Andy. We're going to talk to Brendon and Mikey soon.” He eyed Tyler and then the bruise forming on Josh's neck. “I'm assuming you already explained to Tyler.”

Josh blushed again and draped his hand over his neck semi-casually. “Uh, yeah. Tyler knows.”

Pete rolled his eyes and stepped around Tyler to grab Josh's arm. “Come on, then.”

Tyler followed them and Josh prayed his boner would settle down before they got in front of everyone. Back in Dallon’s room, they found it very crowded with Dallon, Spencer, Rian, Josh, Tyler, Pete, and Andy all in there. Soon, Brendon joined the mix and there seemed to be no room.

Apparently, Rian and Andy discussed the way his electrical energy would affect Rian and his talent. At the end, they'd agreed that it was definitely possible and they were both up for experimenting with the added power to expand Rian's abilities.

When Brendon came in, they agreed that his messing with the frequencies would affect the electricity and it could help with directing, if he'd manage to keep focused.

Spencer left with Pete and Tyler (though that took some convincing) and brought Mikey in. After another while of discussion and theories bounced back and forth, they figured it couldn't hurt to have Mikey see what he could do for directing where Josh went. Mikey admitted his nervousness having never considered traveling around time and space.

By the end of the day, they had a decent plan for figuring out how things would work. They would put things together in action later.

Before everyone left, Josh brought Mikey and Dallon to the side.

“Um… so you know how I mentioned that guy Vecchio earlier?” he asked Dallon. He nodded. “Well, his talent is basically mind programming. I'm sure he'd be a big help in getting Rian to master his ability. The only problem is he's in a different place. Brent's facility.”

Mikey raised an eyebrow and Dallon looked worried. Josh briefly explained who Brent was and Mikey looked thoroughly disgusted with the man. 

“So… I was thinking… could we have Mikey pop in there and get Vecchio?” Josh asked hopefully.

Dallon frowned deeply. “I'm not sure. This seems like a very dangerous place.

Josh sighed. He wouldn't deny that it was. “I don't know. In a perfect world, we could have Mikey transport Tyler over there, have Blurryface take out Brent, evacuate the facility, blow it up, and then get Vecchio to help Rian out and me back home.”

“That's… quite a thought,” Dallon said, eyebrows high. “How is Tyler, anyways? You did talk to him about this.”

Josh laughed softly. “I definitely did. He doesn't seem to know how to believe me that they could work together. But I'm hoping they'll manage.”

Mikey's eyes were wide. “You mean him and the other guy actually worked out in your world?”

Josh smiled. “Sure did. It's totally possible here, too, I'm sure of it.”

\-----

Over the next month, Josh was introduced to everyone and was definitely a bit of a spectacle. Not everyone believed he was telling the truth, but he didn't mind. He wondered what this world's normal Josh Dun was like and what his path was.

Those involved in the plan to Send Josh Dun Home (or, as Mikey called it, Josh Dun F’own Home) worked hard to figure out how to safely act off one another. It was an exciting idea they hadn't thought much about before.

Rian was working extra hard to get his talent under his best control and to stretch them to their limits. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to do much more than usual.

Dallon supervised a session with Andy in which Rian was given a little extra boost in energy through the large softie. Rian only left with a stinging hand, buzzing bones, and even more guilt and determination to get Josh home.

Josh was tired. He was tired of being home but not home, and he was tired of being the freak. He'd been that once, but now it was for a different reason and he just wanted his old Tyler back.

This Tyler was definitely the first one he'd met. He was aggressive and impatient and pitied himself. But Josh could tell his knowledge of how things could work out had improved him. 

They'd gone back to (“back” at least for Josh) the old sessions dealing with Blurryface. Tyler would change over and Blurry would insult Josh to no end. But this time Blurry asked questions. He asked about Josh's Tyler and Blurry, and Josh lectured him on the dynamics of their relationship and how Tyler would become his demons if Blurry disappeared, and how Blurry would have emotions and become more human (relatively) if Tyler were away.

It was all worth it when they ended the days with long makeout sessions and Josh would pretend it was his Tyler. 

It was nearing two months when Rian burst into Dallon's room where Josh and he were talking. 

“I did it,” he panted.

“What?” Josh stood up in a millisecond. 

Rian gestured wildly with his hands. “I was working with Andy and Brendon and we got to this one frequency where I was almost in an out-of-body experience and I altered time and… this bumblebee. It moved backwards. I  _ moved it back in time.  _ It was only about 30 seconds but that's more than usual! And it was directed this time!”

He was bouncing and Josh's heart soared. Dallon seemed more reserved and he placed his hands on Rian. A few seconds later, the man fell over on the bed and passed out.

“What the hell! What did you do that for?” Josh cried.

“I'm worried about what this might be doing to him,” Dallon told him carefully. He leaned on the bed and checked Rian. 

“What do you mean? This is a good thing!”

“Joshua,” he said sternly, “I didn't make him pass out. He needed to he healed. His body is getting overloaded.”

“But—”

“You don't know what happened to your Rian, Joshua!” Dallon stood up and faced Josh. “People don't normally get tons of electricity passed through them and turn out fine. He could be dead.”

Josh clamped his mouth shut and sat down in a chair. “What are we supposed to do?”

Dallon sighed. “I don't know. This could have been a freak accident that never should have happened. You might not be able to return to your time.”

“No!” Josh whined. “I have to get back. How can we make it better for Rian?”

Dallon shook his head. “I have no idea. I'm sorry.”

He turned to tend to Rian while Josh sat in thought. “What if we had two Andys?” he whispered.

“What?”

“Hayley! She could turn into Andy and act like a a receiver on the other end. Then the electricity wouldn't be so focused on Rian.”

Dallon sighed again and rubbed his eyes. “I don't—”

“Please,” Josh begged. “We can figure something out.” Dallon slowly nodded and hoped for the best.

After another week of practice and Rian reported more success, they brought everyone in a larger room to discuss more of an action plan. Then they brought it to life.

“Brendon, you use your frequencies to keep the electricity contained. Andy, do as much as you feel comfortable doing, and focus on sending it  _ through  _ to Hayley. Mikey, use your stick to connect like we practiced and think of the platform as being just a skip to another planet. Or something.”

Dallon was ordering people around. They were in the match clearing and doing their first test run on an inanimate object—a rock Rian was holding. If everything went right, they'd see if they could send anything forward or across multiverses.

There was flashes of electricity and tension and yelling. Mikey disappeared. Rian's muscles tensed hard and Hayley-as-Andy looked in pain. And then… nothing.

Everyone released and let a sigh of disappointment. Rian dropped the rock and stumbled over to Dallon, who fixed him with a grim expression.

They all sat down and passed around food and water as they waited for Mikey to return. Finally, he blinked back into the clearing.

“Guys! I moved!”

Dallon got up to check him out and Josh hung around. “What do you mean?”

“I was somewhere. I think I actually managed to go somewhere else in the… what were they?”

“Multiverses,” Rian mumbled.

“Yeah!”

Josh frowned but his heart leapt. “What makes you think that?”

“For one thing, I saw the city but it looked more like an apocalypse.”

Everyone gasped and ran up to him. “This is great!” Josh cried. “One step down!”

“I think we need something with a life force,” Rian added. “Rocks may give of a sort of frequency, but we need something living.”

“Let's try to send me!” Josh offered excitedly.

“No, absolutely not,” Dallon told him firmly. “We can try something else first.”

Josh pouted but followed everyone in setting up again. Mikey insisted on being in contact with the object—a rabbit—physically instead of through the stick. “I can't take it with me if I'm not connected better.”

Dallon stood nervously and gave the signal. More electricity and focusing and then a strange popping noise and a sizzling.

Then Mikey and the rabbit were gone. 

Rian stood in disbelief. Dallon hurried over and healed him again, checking everyone else out. 

“What now?”

“Why didn't Rian go with them?”

“Is the rabbit still alive?”

They waited and waited and it took almost half an hour for Mikey to come back. He looked disheveled and exhausted but very excited.

“It happened again!” he claimed.

Cheers erupted and Dallon fixed him up while he explained. “I left the rabbit there. I don't really know why, but I'm gonna be leaving Josh, so…” He shrugged. “It was a different universe though. It looked the same except for these giant posters advertising a band called Twenty One Pilots to be playing Madison Square.” He laughed. “Good for them! I wonder how they managed to have that many people in a band.”

They settled and ate dinner in the clearing before heading back home triumphantly. 

“Um, Dallon?” Josh jogged up beside him. “It's great that he can send things to different places, but how are we going to get the right one at the right time?”

Dallon chewed his lip. “I don't know, Josh. I guess Rian still needs to practice focus.”

Josh frowned.  _ Vecchio…  _ He thanked Dallon and ran over to Mikey. “Hey, I have an idea…”

\-----

Mikey was more than excited to go off on a “rogue mission” with Josh. They both pored over maps for a few nights before Josh found the site of the facility. He and Mikey spent a night looking through the area and found the outer edge of the property. They could see the building looming over the trees. 

Josh scowled. He thought he'd never have to see that place again. At least he'd be able to save this universe from its hell.

Finally, a few nights later, Mikey and Josh were ready. He'd explained who Vecchio was and what he looked like, as well as Brent so he could avoid him. Just before they were going to go, the door opened.

Tyler stood in the doorway.

“You didn't think you were going anywhere without me, did you?”

Josh gaped and tried to come up with an excuse.

“Oh hush, I'm not going to tell anyone. You'll be telling them when you get this guy back here, though, aren't you?” He smirked. Josh felt nauseous.

Mikey rolled his eyes. “All right, you'd better be helping, then.”

“Who's the Brent guy?” Tyler asked, looking to Josh. “I'm taking him out, right?”

Josh resisted the urge to hit his head against the table and described Brent. Tyler nodded with a sick grin on his face. “Blurry and I aren't exactly buddy-buddy but we're getting somewhere. And he's happy to help with this.”

Josh swallowed his nerves and let them go. He paced the room for a while before finally they reappeared with a wild-eyed Vecchio slung between them.

“Hey, Lou Vecchio, right?” Josh asked carefully. The rattled man nodded slowly.

Tyler tossed him into the bed and stood by the door menacingly.

“We, uh, we need your help. Can you help one of our guys sort of… 'unlock his full potential’ with his power?” Josh asked.

Vecchio spat, “Why should I help you?”

“Because Brent is a terrible man, okay? You know the conditions. Don't tell me you don't think it's wrong.”

Before Vecchio could reply, Tyler spoke in a cold tone, “Besides, Brent's dead so you need to answer to us unless you want to join him.”

Vecchio’s eyes widened and he visibly gulped. “O-okay. I'll help.”

Josh glared at Tyler for scaring the poor man so bad, but another part of him cheered at the news of Brent's demise. 

Dallon was certainly not pleased to hear of their mission. But when Vecchio (recovered and a little more at ease after Josh had spent the night talking to him) stepped up and offered his help, Dallon begrudgingly accepted the facts as positive.

So they ended up back in the clearing, everyone prepared and excited, but quite scared that they'd be sending Josh to another place with less of a chance of help. Vecchio had worked with Rian and they came in smiling and very proud of their advancements.

Rian brought Josh over to the side and gripped his hands. “Don't worry, Josh. I know what I'm doing now. Thank you.”

Josh smiled. “Thanks to you too.”

Mikey apparently wasn't needed anymore, which certainly received some pouts from the wily boy but he stood to the side to watch.

They prepared and Rian held Josh by the shoulders. Just before Andy was going to start, someone was shouting Josh's name.

Tyler stood at the edge of the clearing, smirking. “You weren't thinking of leaving without saying goodbye to me again, right?”

Josh blushed as he came over to plant a kiss right on his lips. He returned the kiss happily, but felt ready to go home to his own Tyler. 

They parted and Tyler said, “Blurry's still a bitch but we'll get there. Thanks.”

Josh grinned. He'd helped another Tyler. “Of course. This world's Josh is gonna appear here too isn't he?”

Tyler laughed and gave a shrug. “I'll take good care of him.”

Dallon prepared everyone again and Andy started up. Focus, tension, and sheer hope floated through the clearing. Josh seized up and Rian's grip on his shoulders tightened. He couldn't see anything and his ears popped, and then nothing.

Silence.

\-----

“Joshua! Joshua, are you okay? Joshua please. We can't have Tyler bring you back again.”

“Wait, he can't be dead. He's not even alive.”

“Oh my god you're right.  _ Joshua,  _ wake up!”

Josh jerked upright and gasped a lungful of air. Tyler and Dallon were standing over him with a crowd of the other people surround them.

“Hey sleeping beauty,” Tyler said, grinning. Josh's heart jumped for joy and he wanted to leap up and kiss him all over.

Dallon held him back. “Whoa there, we don't know what happened to you.”

Josh pointed to Rian. “You're alive!” 

Rian's eyes widened. “Uh, yeah, I think so.”

After a few minutes of Dallon being overprotective and checking him out, Josh got up to hug Rian hard.

“Hey!” Tyler complained. “Why him first?”

Josh laughed. He stepped away from Rian. “Are you okay? You got electrocuted.”

Rian shrugged and gestured to Dallon. “I'll be fine. What about you? You were out longer than me.”

“You sent me back in time.”

_ “What?” _

Rian's eyes were as big as saucers and everyone else around them seemed just as weirded out.

“Well… sort of. You sent me across multiverses  _ and  _ back in time. So I didn't mess anything up.” Josh grinned. “It was the first day I came here. Nobody knew me and Blurry was still raging in Tyler and Brent was still alive.”

It took a long night of storytelling to get through all that had happened. But they ended it with Josh curled up against Tyler and kissing him up and down. “I missed you.”

Tyler laughed. “I missed you too.”

Josh pressed his face to Tyler's chest. “I helped another Tyler,” he murmured. 

“What do you mean?”

“I helped the other Tyler cooperate with his Blurryface. I hope they managed it without me.”

Tyler smiled into Josh's hair. “I'm sure they did. I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
